[@hubermanlab] Improve Your Lymphatic System for Overall Health & Appearance

Link: https://youtu.be/KBkl3I645c8

Short Summary

Andrew Huberman's podcast episode delves into the essential but often overlooked lymphatic system, highlighting its crucial role in both immediate and long-term health, including appearance. The episode explains how the lymphatic system clears waste and excess fluid, supports immune function, and is vital for organ health and cosmetic benefits, offering practical science-backed tools like movement, breathing techniques, and proper sleep positioning to optimize its function. Huberman emphasizes the lymphatic system's integral connection to overall well-being and encourages listeners to incorporate lifestyle adjustments to support its health.

Key Quotes

Here are 5 direct quotes from the transcript that I found particularly valuable:

1. "Your lymphatic system is absolutely essential to your immediate and long-term health. It's an incredible system that is serving you right now as you listen to this and it's a system that you need to support."
2. "The point here is that your lymphatic system sits central to everything we care about in terms of immediate and long-term health. And as you'll soon see, it's also just a really cool system."
3. "The lymphatic system doesn't have that at all on its own. It's a passive system, no pump, and it's fighting gravity all the time. So, how does lymph move through these lymphatic vessels? Nature came up with a brilliant solution. It's actually the movement of your body that creates the movement of lymph up through these vessels..."
4. "...much of the benefit of aerobic exercise for your heart is because of the way that exercise stimulates growth and health of lymphatic vessels, not heart cells directly. We'll get back to that."
5. "While you sleep you clear out the garbage from your brain."

Detailed Summary

Here is a detailed summary of the Huberman Lab podcast episode on the Lymphatic System, presented in bullet points:

I. Introduction and Key Conclusions:

• Topic: The lymphatic system, its importance, and practical ways to support it.
• Huberman's Three Main Conclusions:
  • The lymphatic system is essential for immediate and long-term health.
  • It's often underappreciated compared to other systems like cardiovascular or nervous systems.
  • Lymphatic health practices are often viewed as "new age" or "woo" but have a real scientific basis.
• Lymphatic System & Appearance: Directly related to appearance, especially the face (e.g., bags under eyes after poor sleep are due to poor lymphatic clearance).
• Goals of the Episode:
  • Explain how the lymphatic system works.
  • Provide tools to support lymphatic system health for immediate, long-term benefits, and cosmetic appearance.
  • Discuss how to support it in cases of injury or illness like cancer.
  • Clarify how lymphatic massage and related treatments work.
  • Highlight the lymphatic system's role in exercise benefits for heart, brain, and overall longevity.

II. Overview of the Circulatory System (Blood):

• Heart's Role: Pumps blood to deliver oxygen and nutrients and returns deoxygenated blood.
• Arteries: Large-diameter tubes that carry oxygenated blood under pressure. Arteries transition into narrower diameter tubes called "arterioles".
• Capillaries: Very thin-walled vessels (one cell thick) where oxygen, glucose, hormones, and amino acids exit the blood into surrounding tissues.
• Waste Products: Cells create waste (carbon dioxide, cellular debris, metabolites, ammonia).
• Extracellular/Interstitial Space: Waste products and fluid are expelled from cells into this area around the cells.
• Venous Capillaries: Collect waste products (carbon dioxide, water, ammonia) and deoxygenated blood to return to the heart.
• Veins: Larger vessels that carry deoxygenated blood and waste back to the heart and lungs for reoxygenation and waste removal.
• Pulmonary System: Part of the circulatory system related to oxygenating the blood in the lungs.

III. The Lymphatic System's Role and Importance:

• Location: Situated at the interstitial space, between the arterial and venous capillary systems.
• Function: Collects excess fluid (3-4 liters daily) and waste products from the interstitial space to return them to the circulatory system.
• Additional Functions: Checks for contaminants (bacteria, viruses) in the lymph nodes.
• Why it's Crucial: Prevents buildup of fluids and waste products, which can lead to:
  • Infection (bacteria thrive in warm, nutrient-rich environments).
  • Inflammation (due to CO2 and ammonia buildup).
  • Tissue buildup (especially adipose tissue).
  • Brain fog and cognitive impairment (if not cleared from the brain).
• Lymph: Sticky fluid containing waste products and potentially some white blood cells.
• Consequences of Impaired Lymphatic Clearance: Local or systemic inflammation, brain fog, cognitive impairment.

IV. Supporting Lymphatic Drainage:

• Lymphatic Vessels: Tubes of varying sizes that carry lymph throughout the body.
• One-Way Vessels: Fluid can only travel in one direction.
• Movement: Body movement is essential for moving lymph because the lymphatic system has no pump of its own.
• Muscle Contractions: Low-level contractions (walking, standing, small movements) and larger muscle movements (legs, trunk, arms) help push lymph through vessels.
• Fascia: Deep lymphatic vessels are closely tied to the fascia (fibrous tissue surrounding muscles); movement affects the fascia and lymphatic flow.
• Recommended Movement: Aim for at least 7,000 steps per day.
• Other Activities:
  • Rebounding (trampoline jumping): Helps move lymph.
  • Treading water and swimming: Excellent for lymphatic drainage.
• Breathing
  • Diaphragmatic Breathing improves lymphatic flow as you breath air in.

V. Protocols & Practices:

• The "Goofy" Practices (But They Work): Body shaking, jumping, rebounding, treading water, swimming. These work because of the one-way vessels. As you shake the fluid, right, it's going up up up up.
• Heaviness in Lower Limbs: Often due to inactivity and lymphatic fluid buildup.
• Diaphragmatic Breathing: Belly extends with inhalation; creates a pressure differential that encourages lymph flow from the cisterna chyli (a lymphatic reservoir in the abdomen) back into the blood supply. Good to do several times a day.
• Swimming Physics Shearing of the skin and lymphatic vessles encourage lymph drainage.

VI. Lymphatic Vessels, Lymph Nodes, and Drainage:

• Lymph Nodes: Larger compartments where lymph is monitored for infection before being passed along.
• Clavicle Region Importance: Area where lymph fluid is returned to the bloodstream via the right and left thoracic ducts (thoracic duct is on the left).
• Right Lymphatic Duct: Drains the right side of the face, right arm, right shoulder, and upper torso on the right.
• Thoracic Duct (Left): Drains the rest of the body.
• Subclavian Veins: The veins where lymphatic drainage re-enters the blood.
• Manual Lymphatic Relief: Light rubbing followed by gentle tapping around the clavicles can encourage drainage.
• Controversial Opinions: Start at the distal limbs move things in. Push down to the legs then up through the legs.

VII. Manual Lymphatic Relief:

• Lymphatic Massage: The right approach to ensure a healthy lymphatic system.
• There are discrepancies in the direction of this form of massage.
• You should not squeeze or push on the lymphatic nodes due to the risk of spreading possible infections that might be forming.

VIII. Immune Functions of the Lymphatic System:

• Lymph Node Swelling: Indicates an immune response to infection.
• Waste Evaluation: Lymph nodes contain T-cells, B-cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells that surveil lymph fluid for bacteria, viruses, and other invaders.
• Lymphocytes (White Blood Cells): T-cells (mature in the thymus) and B-cells (from bone marrow) that check for bacteria, viruses, etc.
• Innate vs. Adaptive Immunity: Lymph nodes house both nonspecific (innate) and targeted (adaptive) immune responses.
• Sore Lymph Nodes: Can indicate combating something; avoid squeezing them.
• Pain Relief: Natural relfex to rub to provide medium pressure to pain area which activates nerves that shut down pain.
• Deep Tissue Massage Caution: Can push things through lymph nodes too quickly and potentially generate an inflammatory response.

IX. Lymphedema:

• Definition: Swelling, typically in limbs, due to lymphatic fluid buildup.
• Causes:
  • Intentional destruction of lymph nodes during cancer treatment (chemo or radiation).
• Stages: Ranges from asymptomatic to permanent swelling.
• Consequences: Local inflammation, tissue thickening, hypoxia (low oxygen).
• Solutions: Lymphatic manual drainage/massage, compression boots.
• Key Takeaway: Prevent fluid and waste buildup by encouraging lymphatic flow.

X. Glimphatic System (Brain's Lymphatic System):

• 2012 Discovery: Previously unknown, the brain does have a lymphatic system for waste removal.
• Purpose: Resolves brain fog, puffiness of the face, and improves wakefulness.
• Metabolically Active: Brain cells have a high metabolism and produce a lot of waste.
• Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF): Bathes the brain and collects waste products.
• Glymphatic System at Night: The vascular areas inside the brain literally spreads, expanding the perivascular space.
• Astrocytes: Glyal cells that create more perivascular space and express aquaporin 4 channels to facilitate waste removal.
• Key Function: Clears waste products from the brain during sleep.

XI. Optimizing Brain Lymphatic Clearance:

• Sleeping Position: Side sleeping is best for lymphatic drainage.
• Other Tips:
  • Avoid alcohol intake to promote REM sleep.
  • Cardiovascular exercise can help.
  • Keep the sleep environment cool.
  • Elevate feet slightly (pillow under feet).
• Consequences of Poor Clearance: Buildup of amyloid plaques (Alzheimer's), inflammation, increased risk of micro-strokes, brain fog.
• Cosmetic Benefits: Sleeping with head elevated can reduce facial puffiness.
• Lymphatic Massage: Anastasia Beauty Fascia (Instagram account) promotes fascial and lymph drainage for the face.

XII. Hydration and the Lymphatic System:

• Hydration Support: A lot of fluid accumulation occurs in the interstatial space because the lymphatic flow is not sufficient.
• Proper Blood Volume: Drink 16-32 oz of water upon waking, and 8-16 oz every 1-2 hours.

XIII. Exercise, Heart Health, and the Lymphatic System:

• Regular Exercise: People tend to know that there are many benefits that may lead to helping the lymphatic system.
• Cardiovascular Exercise Benefits: Promotes lymphangiogenesis (growth of new lymphatic vessels that intervate the heart).
• Offset Inflammation: Exercise induced cardiac lymphatic remodeling mitigates inflammation in the aging heart.
• Exercise & the Brain: Aerobic exercise improves clearance of amaloid beta by the lymphatic system.

XIV. Light and Lymphatic Health:

• Long Wavelength Light: Exposure to long wavelength light improves wound healing in the skin, reduce symptoms of acne, and can reduce inflammation.
• Benefits: Improves mitochondrial function and blood flow.
• Sources: Sunlight (low solar angle) or red light devices.
• Devices vs Sunlight: Sunlight has UVB and UVA rays while light devices do not.